Africa remains at the center of the
storm over a search for the origins of modern humans. It is here that the
earliest fossils have been found, some dating more than 100,000 years ago.
The traces of origins in Africa go back to finds from Kabwe or Broken Hill.
At nearly 200,000 years in age, these finds show a larger brain size than
typical Homo erectus. The cranium is flat, long but more elevated,
expanded higher up in the
parietal region. In rear view, it would resemble the shape of H.
erectus. The face is huge and especially wide across the orbits,
which tend to be low and more rectangular. The nose is wide as in Neanderthals
but more like H. erectus in that it is flatter and lower.
The brow ridges are very large and bigger than any Neandertal. Unlike Neandertal,
however, these brow ridges are hallowed over much of their width by an extensive
sinus chamber. Over all, the remains as Kabwe indicate a more linear and
narrow physique than that of Neandertal....a possible precursor for anatomically
modern humans.